The Yuletide Pensieve
by Clever Ink Slinger
Summary: The Yuletide Pensieve is a collection of Christmas stories and memories pulled directly from the pensieve of time. This is a multi-pairing/multi-rating chronicle of stories written for my Christmas challenge on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenge Forum. Please read and review!
1. Unrelenting

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!  
**

******The Yuletide Pensieve is a collection of Christmas themed oneshots written by me. Keep in mind that this collection will be multiple stand alone oneshots and that each oneshot will be based off of a Christmas prompt!. I must also warn you that each oneshot will contain a different pairing, though there may be instances when I post multiple oneshots with the same pairing, and that each may will be rated differently. Please make sure that you read each chapter/oneshot description carefully as I will be listing what each oneshot is about and what the rating is. That information can be found below this paragraph. I must also warn that I do write pairings that might be offensive to some and that slash and femmeslash are definite possibilities. Aside from that, I hope you all enjoy my Christmas collection!**  


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**Title:** Unrelenting  
**Description:** The Whomping Willow gets a christmas make over when Su Li decides to give him some pretty decorations.  
**Category:** Books - Harry Potter  
**Challenge(s):** Holiday Spirit: Christmas Boot Camp Challenge, Non-Human Characters Boot Camp Challenge, Character Diversity Boot Camp, and the Minor Character Boot Camp Challenge.  
**Prompt(s): **Stubborn, Ribbons, Laugh, and Afraid.  
**Length:** Oneshot – 1,980 words  
**Rating: **(K)  
**Pairing or Characters: **Su Li and the Whomping Willow(who was added a couple of days ago by my request.)  
**Thanks: **To my beta Kyla(WritingHeiress) for taking the time to patiently read this oneshot again and again until I got right! I really appreciate all of your help!  
**Disclaimer:** Though it pains me to say so, I do not own the rights to anything that belongs to the Harry Potter universe, nor do I make any money from writing about them. The only thing(s) that I can claim as mine own are the ideas and/or characters that may be woven into the wonderful world of all that is Harry Potter. Everything else is used in the spirit of good natured fun or naughty shenanigans. What can I say? I just like to play!  
**Author's Notes:** In this oneshot I mentioned a wizarding school in China called Dà Shí de Mó Shù which roughly translates to Great Knowledge of Magic. I do not speak any form of Chinese and I am aware that it is most likely the wrong interpretation of the Chinese words. I also didn't use the Chinese symbols because I felt that it would cause an uncomfortable break in the story. Instead I used the words as they would be pronounced.

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**Unrelenting**

Amid the blanket of snow covering the frozen grounds the Whomping Willow felt the familiar tattoo of dainty footsteps moving closer with noticeable caution. She visited him many times throughout her years at Hogwarts. Usually she would stop just outside the Whomping Willow's reach and sit on a boulder. Whilst she situated herself, the Whomping Willow assumed the task of mock indifference, just as he had done on every occasion before, but the gnarled old tree had a bit of a secret. The Whomping Willow quite enjoyed the visits of this girl.

It all started five long winters ago when the first snow of the year had chilled the Whomping Willow's knobby roots. Though he was cold and nearly numb, the old tree felt the weary vibrations of a child's footsteps. There was something about the way that she moved which hinted to the fact that she was afraid of him, just as she bloody well should have been! Underneath her fear he could sense something else: a hint of stubbornness and sadness.

Try as he might, the Whomping Willow could not bring himself to ignore the child as he had done to others over the years. The lost souls of Hogwarts, misunderstood, lonely, or outcast, would always seek out the Whomping Willow as if the old tree's friendship was an essential conquest. But there was just something about this girl, Su Li she called herself, that had gotten passed his hard bark exterior to touch the soft core which he guarded so fiercely.

For as long as she'd had come to visit him, never once had she tried to move within his reach. At first he had been determined to frighten her away just like all of the others. Truth be told, he hoped she would come closer so that he could give her a good whack. Yet Su never gave him the opportunity. Instead she would sit upon a particular stone and simply talk to him.

At first Su had tried to carry on a conversation with the bad-tempered tree. She would ask silly questions of which he could never answer. It wasn't as if he had a mouth from which he could speak. Sure the old tree could think for itself; he was a special tree after all, and unlike any other that grew on the Hogwarts grounds. He could feel things happening around him which in turn allowed him to hear words through the faintest of vibrations. He could never talk, but he was able to listen…sometimes against his will.

Su told him many stories over the years. After some time when the Whomping Willow didn't answer her, the girl switched to pouring out her entire life story. She had started with simple things such as who she was and where she came from. Her parents were Chinese immigrants who had taken a liking to London during a holiday shortly after they were married. Her mum was a fiery witch who had learned magic in one of China's largest wizarding schools, Dà Shí de Mó Shù. Her father was a muggle business man in charge of a large office supply company in both China and Great Britain. Su was the eldest one of two children; her sister Ming was only a few years old, born during Su's second year at Hogwarts.

Through her words the Willow learned that, though her family had money, Su found that material possessions couldn't make up for her lack of friends. She explained to the Whomping Willow how hard it was for her to make friends because she was so shy. People never understood her quiet nature, so she didn't have any true friends so to speak, and that was why she spent much of her time with the crotchety willow tree. He seemed to be the only one that listened to her endless confessions, thoughts, and secrets.

And he did listen to her. He listened with such interest that he actually started to enjoy the young girl's company. In truth, she had gotten to the old grump in a way that no other had. Su became his only friend. With a past of such bitterness the Whomping Willow never had any room for friends, nor any need, until Su Li.

Today she sat quietly upon her stone. By her feet she had placed the weight of a bag upon his underlying outstretched roots. The Whomping Willow could tell that it wasn't her usual school bag, it wasn't as heavy. Curious as to what it might be, he waited for her to speak.

After long moments of silence, pulsations from her spoken words began to hum throughout the circuits of his foundation. He heard them as, "It's almost time to leave for Christmas. The students are up packing their trunks to leave tomorrow morning. All of my things are packed already. I packed them last night while everybody else was at the choir's Christmas recital."

The Whomping Willow shifted, shaking its branches just enough to unsettle the snow that had begun to build upon it. Su hesitated for just a heartbeat before continuing on, "I thought that it would be nice to pay you one last visit before I left. I won't be back to visit you for a few weeks. What am I even saying, you probably don't even care that I'm here to being with," Su shot off tetchily. The Whomping Willow could feel the intensity of irritation humming through her small body sending tremors through his roots.

She bent down and picked up her bag. Once she had it unclasped she began to ruffle through it until she found whatever it was that she was searching for. The Whomping Willow swayed gently from side to side as he waited.

Su began speaking to him, "I know that it's incredibly stupid for me to even consider, but I thought that maybe this year for Christmas I might give you a few decorations in spirit of the holiday season. I've thought about it and well, if you kill me in the process then that'll just be my own fault now wont it," Su finished, heaving a long sigh.

The willow tree wasn't sure how he felt about the child approaching him. Not only that but how he would feel about having decorations on his branches. On top of that, he enjoyed her company, but he was an aggressive tree by nature. What if he killed her? And what if he didn't? If he let one child close, then others might try to follow suit. But even as he tried to calm his anxiety, the child spoke.

"So, I've brought with me a satchel of ribbons and bells and vials of little flashing lights. I thought that if I stood right here and used my wand to decorate that you might be alright with it."

Su pulled her wand from within her heavy violet cloak and sent a brilliant red velvet ribbon toward the Whomping Willow. It wrapped around one of the many bare limbs before tying itself into a big beautiful bow. The girl bit her lip anxiously as if worried that he might go mad at any moment. Instead the tree lifted the branch, turning it too and fro, just as though he were inspecting the new addition.

Careful not to scare her, the Whomping Willow stretched out the adorned limb. He then used two other limbs to grab the bow and tighten it up neatly. Chuffed with himself because of the bow he stretched it out farther for Su Li to inspect.

"There you are, it's beautiful. Now, if you'll sit still I'll add a few more."

Velvet ribbons of royal blue, forest green, crimson, and gold sailed to the Whomping Willow and tied themselves into neat little bows. As Su worked flurries of snow began drifting from the evening sky. She shivered, sending more vibrations through the Willow's roots, yet she continued working until all of the ribbons had been tied. Next she sent the bells of silver and gold tinkling along. They hung themselves upon the thinner willow branches with lacy white fastenings. In the gentle winter wind they jingled a merry melody.

The Whomping Willow stood still as if frozen while the girl worked with her wand. Subconsciously she began walking around the tree, moving closer and closer while she directed the different decorations, and he wasn't tempted to cause his only friend harm.

"Time for the lights, they're the last decoration. I made these myself with a potion that I found in a library book," from her bag she pulled tiny vials filled with flashing fluid. Liquids of fuchsia, magenta, lime green, cerulean, bright yellow, and cherry red whirled continuously in the tiny bottles. Each sparkled, with golden flickering light and silver swirling glitter. "It took me few tries before I finally got them right. They're really pretty. I'll have to " her voice trailed off. With a sigh she said, "I forgot to bring the ties to hold them in place."

The Whomping Willow sensed the disappointment from her words and it made him feel a sudden sadness for her. This child had tried to do something from the goodness of her heart. There must be something that he could do. Then a thought came to him, as quick as a flash, and he was reaching one of his wispy branches toward her.

Suddenly Su realized that she was far too close. She flinched…shrinking away from him, waiting for the impact of the tree's vicious lashing, but it never came. Instead she felt one of the thin whips pluck a bottle gently from her hand. Feeling brave she peeked through one partially opened eye to watch the willow. He held the bottle gingerly with one twig while a small vine shot out of a larger branch to twine through the loophole on the top of the glass. Once he was finished, the flickering decoration hung securely in place with a single braided vine.

"You're an absolute genius, you are!" Su cried out.

Puffs of mist rose into the deepening blue sky as she laughed and danced around the tree, all the while sending the homemade lights one at time for the tree to hang with braided vines. Fifteen minutes later they had finished the task which Su Li had set out to accomplish. The Whomping Willow was ingeniously decorated and looked quite lovely. Never had the old tree looked as cheerful as it did at that very moment.

"You look charming!" Su exclaimed.

There was one more thing that she'd brought with her, one which she had left beside her sitting rock. Her wand at the ready, she gave it a flick and summoned the large wreath to her. She wasn't sure that it was smart to approach the trunk of the tree to hang the wreath. Then as she stood debating the idea…she realized that she was already within striking distance and she had yet to be harmed. With her decision made, Su edged toward the Whomping Willow until she stood right beside his trunk.

It took her a moment to find the knot on the tree trunk in the dark. With hesitant fingers she slipped a binding over the protruding knot and settled the wreath into place, "There you go, that's all of the decorations," she spoke softly. Even so, the Whomping Willow could feel the affection in her voice. "This is my Christmas present to you." Before she could stop herself, she flung her arms around as much of the tree trunk as she could, and in that moment the timeworn tree wrapped her in a crushing hug. Su was so heartened by the exchange that tears stung her eyes. Sniffling she said, "Thank you, this is the best Christmas present ever. Thank you Whompy, thank you for everything."


	2. Finding Harmony

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!**

**The Yuletide Pensieve is a collection of Christmas themed oneshots written by me. Keep in mind that this collection will be multiple stand alone oneshots and that each oneshot will be based off of a Christmas prompt!. I must also warn you that each oneshot will contain a different pairing, though there may be instances when I post multiple oneshots with the same pairing, and that each may will be rated differently. Please make sure that you read each chapter/oneshot description carefully as I will be listing what each oneshot is about and what the rating is. That information can be found below this paragraph. I must also warn that I do write pairings that might be offensive to some and that slash and femmeslash are definite possibilities. Aside from that, I hope you all enjoy my Christmas collection!**

* * *

**Title:** Finding Harmony  
**Description: **Ron Weasley finds himself appreciating his family at the holidays after spending some quality time with his kids.  
**Category:** Books - Harry Potter  
**Challenge(s):** Holiday Spirit: Christmas Boot Camp Challenge and Character Diversity Boot Camp Challenge  
**Prompt(s): **Cards and Hunger  
**Length:** Oneshot – 2,214 words  
**Rating: **(K)  
**Pairing or Characters: **Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger  
**Thanks: **To my beta Kyla(WritingHeiress) for taking the time to patiently read this oneshot again and again until I got right! I really appreciate all of your help!  
**Disclaimer:** Though it pains me to say so, I do not own the rights to anything that belongs to the Harry Potter universe, nor do I make any money from writing about them. The only thing(s) that I can claim as mine own are the ideas and/or characters that may be woven into the wonderful world of all that is Harry Potter. Everything else is used in the spirit of good natured fun or naughty shenanigans. What can I say? I just like to play!  
**Author's Notes:** Thanks to those who take the time to read and review! It means so much!

* * *

**Finding Harmony**

Ronald Weasley sighed in relief when he looked at the watch he received on his seventeenth birthday and saw that it was finally time for him and Harry to clock out for the night. Working as and Auror for the Ministry of Magic was a highly rewarding job, but he would be lying if he said that it wasn't stressful or tiring. After a long day of work, what he wanted was to spend some quality time with his wife and children. With that thought in mind, he and Harry headed to the Atrium so they could use the floo network, but the lines of witches and wizards waiting to depart were ridiculous!

Harry scowled at the queues, "Oh stuff this! Right, Ron, I'm apparating home. We'll see you on Sunday for dinner. Give Hermione and the kids our love."

"Alright Harry, see you Sunday," Ron agreed. He gave his friend a wave before turning on the spot with a loud pop and apparating to the tidy front garden of the family's cottage.

Snow had fallen while he had been away, covering the ground in a fluffy white blanket that crunched underfoot. Rows of small sometimes lopsided snowmen had been built along either side of the path leading up to the front door. Ron smiled, crouching to examine the handy-work of his children. Rose and Hugo had used large black buttons for eyes, carrots to make the noses, and twigs had been used for arms. On top of the snowmen were small brightly coloured top hats that Ron knew Hermione must have conjured. Corncob pipes had been stuck into the side of each snowman's mouth. They looked just like Frosty the Snowman, which was currently the favourite Christmas story of both children. Ron stood up and made a mental not to praise Rosie and Hugo on their hard work.

He groaned when he entered the house and the delicious smells from the kitchen filled his nose. Ron was starving! He stopped just long enough to hang his coat in the front hall before walking through to the kitchen. Four year old Hugo was propped up on his mummy's hip, talking to her as she stirred a pot of stew on the stove. Beside the stove was a batch of freshly baked rolls that made Ron's belly clench and growl with hunger.

"Hi Daddy," the little boy yelled, arm flailing forward when he noticed Ron standing in doorway of the kitchen. Eager for a hug, Hugo began to struggle in his Hermione's arms until she let him down to charge across the room.

"Alright, big guy?" Ron asked ask, scooping the excited child up into a big hug.

Hugo wrapped his small arms around Ron's neck and gave him a tight squeeze. Giggling he asked, "Did you see the snowmans that Rosie and me made today?"

"'The snowmen that Rosie and I made'," Hermione corrected as she waddled around the kitchen gathering dishes to set the table. She paused to lean against the cupboard in order to ease the back-pain caused by her enormously pregnant tummy.

Ron knelt in front of his little boy, "Yes I did seem them. You two did a brilliant job on them. Did mummy help you?"

"Mummy made the hats and the pipes. Rosie and I did the rest." Hugo looked to his mum with a big smile on his chubby little face. She had straightened by this point and was carrying bowls to the dinner table.

"Well they're great. They look just like Frosty," Ron said, giving Hugo another big cuddle before setting him down in his chair at the table. The little boy immediately began dancing on his chair and singing Frosty the Snowman at the top of his lungs. Ron grinned at his mad son before turning to his wife, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead, and saying, "Alright love?"

The stack of bowls chinked as Hermione set them on the table. Turning into the comfort of his arms, she looked up into Ron's concerned face and smiled gently, "Oh, I'm alright dear. My back is just a little sore is all. We've all had a long day today and I'm tired. The children wanted to go out to play in the snow just as it started to fall this afternoon. So, we bundled up and played outside until we grew cold. Then we came in for a nice cup of hot chocolate and snuggled by the fire until Hugo insisted on watching Frosty again and Rose went off in search of art supplies. How was your day?"

Ron gave Hermione a sympathetic look. This was her third pregnancy and it had been the hardest one yet. She was constantly in pain from the pressure of their growing boys. He wrapped his lanky arms around her waist and began massaging her lower back, "It was alright, I suppose. Harry and I sorted through boring paperwork all day. Mazie Higgins, the girl in charge of the case files, wound up muddling them while she was organizing. All of the files for the past two years ended up compromised. It was a complete nightmare! I'm so glad to be home, somebody else can sort out all of that rubbish." He sighed heavily and pushed the thought of work aside. Instead he focused on the swell of his wife's belly. Placing his palm of Hermione's baby bump he said, "How were the twins today?"

"I swear, they take after Fred and George. They're constantly moving and kicking. I don't think that they have taken a nap all day in there. For some reason I have a sneaking suspicion that these two are going to be a little more difficult than our Rosie and Hugo," Hermione stroked her tight belly lovingly as she spoke.

Ron chuckled as he threw a glanced over his shoulder toward the doorway leading to the rest of the house, "Where is our Rosie?"

"The last I saw of her, she was headed toward the living room with an armload of craft stuff from her bedroom. Rose said that she had a project that needed to be done. I'm not sure what she's working on though. She wouldn't tell me, said it was a surprise," Hermione stretched and placed a quick kiss on Ron's lips. Then she pushed him toward the door, "You should go and find her. It's almost time for supper and she needs to get cleaned up."

Ron went and snagged a warm, delicious smelling roll off of the counter before walking off in search of his daughter. Just as Hermione had said, Rose was in the living room kneeling beside the coffee table humming what Ron thought was supposed to be Jingle Bells. She was using a colouring quill to draw on a folded piece of paper. A stack of coloured parchment, a pair of scissors, sticks of glue, and a few containers of glitter were scattered around her.

"Hey Rosie, what are you at love?" He sat on the couch behind her and glanced curiously over her shoulder. Ron realized that she must not have heard him come into the room because she swung around, knocking over an open container of red glitter, when he spoke.

"Oh!" Rose cried out, batting at his knees with one small bunched up fist. "You scared me, daddy!"

Ron couldn't help but chuckled at the surprise and annoyance on his daughter's sweet face. It reminded him so much of the look that his wife often got on her own face when she was frustrated.

"I'm sorry, Rosie, I didn't mean to startle you. Here, let me clean up that mess," he had pulled out his wand, and then waved it at the heap of crimson flecks, "Tergeo glitter."

They both watched as the glitter swirled about, resembling a miniature tornado, before filling the container like an upturned hourglass. Rose's expression had changed to one of pure fascination as she witnessed the simple tidying spell at work.

With all the authority of an adult, the six year old said, "It isn't fair that children can't do magic. It would give us lots of time to practice before going to Hogwarts."

Ron sighed, oh yes…she was just like her mum.

"It is against our laws for children to practice magic because it's dangerous for untrained people to use. Magic is a very powerful tool Rosie and you would do well to remember that. Besides, if you learned how to do magic before going to Hogwarts, what would be the point of even going?" he ruffled her wavy brunette hair affectionately. "So, what _are_ you working on?"

For a moment Rose pouted, as she always did when Ron explained to her that she couldn't do magic, yet when asked about her project her energy completely change. She grinned from ear to ear as she flew into her explanation, "I'm making Christmas cards for all of my cousins! Oh, and Teddy of course!"

"Of course," Ron agreed with an understanding lopsided smile, "We wouldn't want Teddy feeling left out. Especially since he went out of his way to get you and your brother gifts this year."

"Teddy bought us presents? Did he get me a book," She asked hopefully.

Ron laughed, "I can't tell you what he bought."

She seemed crestfallen by her dad's secrecy, but only for a moment. Then she was turning back to her homemade Christmas cards, "Do you want to help me daddy?"

"Sure Rosie, what do you want me to do?" He slid off of the couch to kneel beside her at the unreasonably low table, his height making him tower over it.

Her little hand slid one of the emerald green cards in front of him, "Can you make these reindeer dance? They're supposed to dance around the Christmas tree across the bottom." She made sure to indicate just where the little deer were supposed to move.

Ron used various spells to make the drawn reindeer frolic around the coloured parchment. Once he was finished with the task assigned to him, he looked at the rest of drawn images on handmade the card. In the top right hand corner before a fireplace stood a pump, jolly Santa Clause that was saying 'ho,ho,ho' and holding his belly. The centre piece of the artwork was a great big Christmas tree covered in decorations. Rosie had even taken the time to draw strings of Christmas lights over the pine boughs.

As he studied the card, he thought for a moment of all the different spells that he could use to liven it up a bit. There were hundreds that he could choose from! He picked a few good ones mentally and then set to work animating different pieces. When he was finished there was a fire roaring in the grate, the lights on the trees sparkled and flashed, the gold star atop the tree glittered cheerfully, Santa's belly shook with laughter, and he had even charmed Mr Clause so that he actually said 'ho, ho, ho, and Merry Christmas!' aloud.

Ron was just showing his handy-work to Rosie when Hugo came marching into the living room calling them to dinner. But when he saw what they were up, to his eyes lit up in his small face. He was spellbound by the neat things his dad could do with the magic he knew. Hugo immediately wanted to know if Ron could make a snowman that danced and sang Frosty the Snowman. In the end, all three of them were surrounding the table working on Christmas cards for everybody in the family. The children were working on drawing the pictures and Ron was providing their creations with animation and sounds.

It wasn't until thirty minutes later, when Hermione waddled in, that they even remember dinner was on the table getting cold. Ron thought that she would be made, but he heard her laugh when she saw them working together. And he had to admit that they were quite a sight! His tall frame was hunched over the tiny table between their children. Hugo had pieces of glue coated paper pieces stuck to his face and Rosie was covered in a dusting of multi-coloured glitter.

"Alright you three, time to clean up or else it is off to bed without dinner," she was struggling to keep a stern look on her face as she chided them.

"Okay mum," both children said half-heartedly, disappointed by the interruption of the evening meal.

When the children scampered off to wash up Ron stretched his tall frame and went to his wife. He cuddled her body against his as he rubbed a hand on her stomach lovingly, "I'm so happy that we'll have two more soon. Our little family gives my life so much meaning, two more will just make it that much better."

"Even with midnight feedings," Hermione asked sceptically. It wasn't a secret that Ron enjoyed his sleep almost as much as he enjoyed his food.

He hugged her to him, planting gentle kisses on her face. Between kisses he said, "Yes even with midnight feedings. Nights like tonight really make me appreciate our family and just how much wealth we have in the way of love."


End file.
